Did I choose the butterflies, or did they choose me? I guess it helps when studying butterflies that given enough patience they'll cooperate for poses on my fingers. Am I the butterfly whisperer? Not really. Macro, macro, macro! Mwahahaha... In the hand, this large marble is totally a piece of cake to ID. However, I still can't distinguish this butterfly in flight compared to the more ubiquitous cabbage butterfly, which has been extremely frustrating for me. Chris is quite impressive with his flight ID skills (probably all those years spent as a birder), but it's hard to explain to another person exactly what you look for to make that ID. I think everyone has different cues that work for them. I know a local botanist who is color blind, and I actually think that helps him distinguish the slight color variations in plants. We all have our gifts.
